In the Valley of Elah
starring: Josh Brolin, Barry Corbin, Wayne Duvall, Frances Fisher, Tommy Lee Jones
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Product Description:
Mike Deerfield returns to the U.S. after his tour of duty in Iraq and abruptly goes missing. His father Hank (Tommy Lee Jones), a spit-and-polish ex-MP from the Vietnam era, goes looking for him. What he finds goes to the heart of American combat experiences in the Iraqi conflict.Academy Award-winning Crash filmmaker Paul Haggis teams with Oscar-winning actors Jones, Charlize Theron and Susan Sarandon in a probing and powerful look at a nation and the young soldiers it sends into battle. Hank's quest lays bare a tangled web of cover-up, murder, mystery and profound revelation about the personal costs of war.
Amazon.com:
In career Army officer Hank Deerfield's worldview, the American military exists to bring order to the world, and honor and dignity to every one of its soldiers. As played by Tommy Lee Jones, in a layered performance that will haunt the viewer long after the film is over, Deerfield wears the Army life like he does his standard-issue white T-shirts--unconsciously making a cheap motel bed with crisp inspection-ready corners. Yet if war is hell, the purgatory for the relatives of damaged soldiers can cause far more anguish, and Paul Haggis' quietly devastating In the Valley of Elah tells this story through Deerfield, who is desperately trying to piece together the fate of his adored son Mike, a soldier in Iraq.
Mike's company has returned from duty, but he is missing; Hank flies from Tennessee to Fort Rudd in the Southwest, to conduct his own investigation into the disappearance. There he meets a smart but put-upon police officer (Charlize Theron, glammed-down but still showing a bit too much sexy collarbone for a cop) who also smells something off in the Army's official story of the disappearance. The two form an unlikely team, but as a friend tells Deerfield early on, "You gotta trust somebody sometime, Hank," and Mike's vanishing is Hank's tipping point.
As Hank pieces together the horrifying story of Mike's fate, the incremental pain becomes etched in Jones' ragged features, and the camera captures all of it--far more powerfully than could a million words of reportage from the front lines. Theron's performance is also strong, and Susan Sarandon is moving if underutilized as Hank's grief-stricken wife, robbed of the simple nuclear family life she so wanted. "They shouldn't send heroes to places like Iraq," says one of Mike's buddies late in the film, and it's the viewers' collective sorrow--and the film's great achievement--to feel that at the deepest human level. --A.T. Hurley
Mike Deerfield returns to the U.S. after his tour of duty in Iraq and abruptly goes missing. His father Hank (Tommy Lee Jones), a spit-and-polish ex-MP from the Vietnam era, goes looking for him. What he finds goes to the heart of American combat experiences in the Iraqi conflict.Academy Award-winning Crash filmmaker Paul Haggis teams with Oscar-winning actors Jones, Charlize Theron and Susan Sarandon in a probing and powerful look at a nation and the young soldiers it sends into battle. Hank's quest lays bare a tangled web of cover-up, murder, mystery and profound revelation about the personal costs of war.
Amazon.com:
In career Army officer Hank Deerfield's worldview, the American military exists to bring order to the world, and honor and dignity to every one of its soldiers. As played by Tommy Lee Jones, in a layered performance that will haunt the viewer long after the film is over, Deerfield wears the Army life like he does his standard-issue white T-shirts--unconsciously making a cheap motel bed with crisp inspection-ready corners. Yet if war is hell, the purgatory for the relatives of damaged soldiers can cause far more anguish, and Paul Haggis' quietly devastating In the Valley of Elah tells this story through Deerfield, who is desperately trying to piece together the fate of his adored son Mike, a soldier in Iraq.
Mike's company has returned from duty, but he is missing; Hank flies from Tennessee to Fort Rudd in the Southwest, to conduct his own investigation into the disappearance. There he meets a smart but put-upon police officer (Charlize Theron, glammed-down but still showing a bit too much sexy collarbone for a cop) who also smells something off in the Army's official story of the disappearance. The two form an unlikely team, but as a friend tells Deerfield early on, "You gotta trust somebody sometime, Hank," and Mike's vanishing is Hank's tipping point.
As Hank pieces together the horrifying story of Mike's fate, the incremental pain becomes etched in Jones' ragged features, and the camera captures all of it--far more powerfully than could a million words of reportage from the front lines. Theron's performance is also strong, and Susan Sarandon is moving if underutilized as Hank's grief-stricken wife, robbed of the simple nuclear family life she so wanted. "They shouldn't send heroes to places like Iraq," says one of Mike's buddies late in the film, and it's the viewers' collective sorrow--and the film's great achievement--to feel that at the deepest human level. --A.T. Hurley
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: 
- Forgettable
When young soldier Mike Deerfield returns from Iraq and immediately goes missing, his father, Hank (Tommy Lee Jones) tries to find him.Soon it appears that Mike was the victim of foul play, but Hank finds the military authorities strangely uncooperative and his only hope is a civilian police officer (Charlize Theron) who is disliked by her colleagues.
Though the film deals with war and murder, it is surprisingly unemotional and uninvolving.There is no tension or danger, there were ... Read More
Rating: 
- Great acting makes this worth watching
Strong performance from Tommy Lee Jones makes up for the fact that this movie was already made 10 years ago ('Courage Under Fire' with Meg Ryan and Denzel Washington). Okay, maybe not all that much a copy, but close enough that it felt unoriginal. This movie is a worthwhile watch for two reasons; Jones really is great, and it does make you realize that not all war casualties are physical, and that the 3000+ soldiers killed in Iraq are really just the tip of the iceberg.
Rating: 
- Layers of Emotion
Hank Deerfield, played by Tommy Lee Jones, is the quintissential military officer who lives his personal life as he did while in the Army. Tommy's two sons, following in their father's footsteps, enter the military and are subsequently involved in the war in Iraq. The oldest is killed and the youngest, Mike, disappears once released. The Army has tagged him AWOL, but Deerfield doesn't believe this and goes searching for his son. When Mike's dismembered, burned corpse is found, the Army is all too willing ... Read More
Rating: - Valley of Elah best film of year! Worthy of the Academy Awards
An extremely well acted and well thought out film that was the best movie I have seen in then last 15 months.Why this film had not received any Academy Awards is beyond me.
Rating: - In the Valley of Elah
I was so surprised when this movie arrived as it got here within 3 days.
I would certainly buy from this person again.
Thanks, Susan
- ForgettableWhen young soldier Mike Deerfield returns from Iraq and immediately goes missing, his father, Hank (Tommy Lee Jones) tries to find him.Soon it appears that Mike was the victim of foul play, but Hank finds the military authorities strangely uncooperative and his only hope is a civilian police officer (Charlize Theron) who is disliked by her colleagues.
Though the film deals with war and murder, it is surprisingly unemotional and uninvolving.There is no tension or danger, there were ... Read More
- Great acting makes this worth watchingStrong performance from Tommy Lee Jones makes up for the fact that this movie was already made 10 years ago ('Courage Under Fire' with Meg Ryan and Denzel Washington). Okay, maybe not all that much a copy, but close enough that it felt unoriginal. This movie is a worthwhile watch for two reasons; Jones really is great, and it does make you realize that not all war casualties are physical, and that the 3000+ soldiers killed in Iraq are really just the tip of the iceberg.
- Layers of EmotionHank Deerfield, played by Tommy Lee Jones, is the quintissential military officer who lives his personal life as he did while in the Army. Tommy's two sons, following in their father's footsteps, enter the military and are subsequently involved in the war in Iraq. The oldest is killed and the youngest, Mike, disappears once released. The Army has tagged him AWOL, but Deerfield doesn't believe this and goes searching for his son. When Mike's dismembered, burned corpse is found, the Army is all too willing ... Read More
- Valley of Elah best film of year! Worthy of the Academy AwardsAn extremely well acted and well thought out film that was the best movie I have seen in then last 15 months.Why this film had not received any Academy Awards is beyond me.
- In the Valley of ElahI was so surprised when this movie arrived as it got here within 3 days.
I would certainly buy from this person again.
Thanks, Susan
